


Our Moment

by carwood



Series: Holiday [2]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Cold, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hanukkah, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 21:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carwood/pseuds/carwood
Summary: prompt: it’s my turn to light the menorah but i can’t find the candles/oil for it HELP ME PLEASE





	Our Moment

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: i'm agnostic and not religious. my family are messianic jews, but we don't really celebrate any holidays the “correct” way so i don’t really know the ins and outs of religious holidays so if i get any facts wrong, just let me know! i’m not trying to be offensive to anyone (um, obviously) so apologies in advance if i do get things wrong!

David finally finds a comfortable resting spot, pulling his blanket up to his chin and resting his head against the pillow. It was a windy and snowy night, and even with the heat in his apartment turned all the way up, David was still freezing. He swears that he feels nothing coming out of his heater, but it was too late at night to complain to his landlord. Instead, David layered his clothes and covered himself with every blanket he owns. He had just hit play on the movie he was planning on watching when there was a knock at the door. 

David groans audibly, throwing off his warm blankets, standing up and clicking pause on the film. There is another knocking at the door, this one even more urgent. David grabs one of his fluffiest blankets, wrapping it tightly around his shoulders. David opens the door, and his upstairs neighbor, Joe, walks into his apartment without permission. 

“What do you want?” David groans. Joe and David had a very complicated relationship. David swears he has been nothing but kind to Joe, but Joe still seemed to have some sort of vendetta against him. They got along all right at first, but over time it seemed to shift. Joe was never exactly mean to David, but there was definitely a tension. David swears that whenever he sits down to write, Joe stomps around his apartment or has loud music playing. David has brought this up to Joe a couple of time, but Joe just makes a joke and ignores him.

“It’s the first night of Hanukkah.” Joe says, walking into David’s kitchen and opening drawers, looking for something.

“Okay?” David questions, following Joe into the kitchen. “What are you looking for?”

“Oil, for my menorah. I can’t believe I forgot it.” Joe groans, closing the drawer a little too aggressively for David’s liking. Joe suddenly sinks to the floor, putting his head in his hands. David stands there awkwardly, unsure of how to react. Joe lets out a shaky breath.

“Hey, it’s okay.” David says, dropping his blanket, kneeling down next to Joe and putting a hand on his shoulder. Joe falls into him, resting his head against David’s chest. David wraps his arms around Joe, rubbing his back gently. Joe rarely lets himself let go, and he hasn’t cried in front of someone since he was a teenager. Joe lets a few tears slip down his cheeks. 

“Every store is closed and I can’t find any oil for my menorah. It needs to be lit tonight. I’m desperate, David.” Joe whispers. David couldn’t believe that he was seeing this incredibly vulnerable side of Joe. 

“I’ll help you, okay? What kind of oil do you need? We’ll make it work.” David says, squeezing Joe even tighter. 

“Olive, preferably.” Joe says, sitting up and nervously running a hand through his hair.

“I have olive oil.” David says, standing up and pulling it out from the back of a cabinet. He hands it to Joe and he grips it tightly in his hands. He looks at it as if it's glowing, before looking up at David. Tears well in his eyes, and then something snaps in Joe. He looks away from David, frowning, thanking him quietly before heading towards the door. 

“Wait!” David says, grabbing his blanket off the floor and throwing it over his shoulders again as he follows Joe out the door, pulling it shut behind him. David watches Joe’s shoulder, pulling him to a stop. 

“What?” Joe questions, pulling his shoulder away. 

“Joe…” David says quietly. Joe bites his lip, looking down at his feet. “You’re supposed to light the menorah with other people, right? I’m not Jewish, but I’m here.” 

“You… you wanna come over?” Joe asks. David nods. Joe pretends to mull it over for a moment, but then nods. David smiles, and they walk together to the elevator and up into Joe’s apartment. He pulls a key out of his pocket, unlocking the door. Joe’s apartment is almost identical to David’s. Even their furniture is the same. Joe’s apartment is less organized than David’s, but it wasn’t horribly messy.

“Your heat is working?” David asks, taking the blanket off and throwing it onto the couch. Joe nods in response, moving to the table where his menorah was set up, right in front of his window. David explores the apartment, looking at all of the little nick-nacks that Joe has. He gets to the almost barren bookshelf. There's a copy of the Old Testament, a couple novels, and a whole stack of comic books.

“David?” Joe asks, beckoning him over.

“Do you need me to do anything?” David asks, sitting down at the table.

“No, I have to recite a blessing.” Joe explains, the first shamash already lit. David notices that Joe’s face is different than it normally is. His face is blank and calm, but his hands are shaking slightly. David could tell that this was a big deal for Joe. Joe begins to recite the blessing, speaking smoothly and calmly. He lights the first candle, the one at the right of the menorah. 

Joe finishes, and they sit in silence for a couple of minutes. “Do you want some latkes?” Joe asks.

“Sure.” David shrugs. Joe gets up and goes to the kitchen, bringing back a plate of latkes. “These are about the only thing I know how to make.” Joe shrugs, sliding the plate down onto the table. David picks one up and takes a bite. They’re a little cold, but overall not bad. 

“These are good, Joe.” David says, nodding his head.

“Thanks.” Joe shrugs. They eat in a comfortable silence. David wants to say something, he just has no clue what that would be. Joe is tapping his foot against the floor. David tries to ignore it, but it reminds him of all the times he has been trying to write or read and having to listen to Joe’s annoying stomping above him. 

“Can you stop that?” David groans, putting his head into his hands. Joe looks him dead in the eye and taps his foot even harder.

“Joe.” David groans, standing up suddenly, making his chair fall back. 

“Alright, there, David, I’m sorry.” Joe says with a chuckle. 

“Why do you have to be like that?” David shouts “I thought we were having a moment here!”

“Oh we were having a moment?” Joe chuckles, standing up directly in front of David, looking him in the eye. David’s mouth opens to respond, but no words come out. David groans and walks away, throwing open Joe’s door and walking out. 

“Oh come on David, you’re ruining our moment!” Joe yells as David walks down the hall. David presses the elevator button, shaking his head. He can’t believe that he thought that he was actually getting along with Joe. David goes down one floor, reaching his door and reaching into his back pocket for his key, only to realize that it wasn’t in his pocket. David curses, kicking the door. When he ran out of his apartment after Joe, he forgot to grab his keys, meaning he was going to be locked out until the morning and he could go get his landlord. 

David shudders, wrapping his arms around himself in attempt to keep warm. The hallway was just as cold as the apartment, except now he would have to sleep without any blankets on the floor. David sits down, leaning against his door. He considers for half a second going back to Joe’s room but he is far too ashamed.

David feels himself drifting off to sleep when he hears the elevator ding and slide open. David opens his eyes, just as Joe walks out the elevator, blanket in hand. Joe stops when he sees David sitting there on the floor.

“I just came to give this back.” Joe says, looking down at the blanket. “What are you doing?” 

David stands up and takes the blanket, wrapping it around himself tightly. “I’m locked out of my apartment.”

“Why don’t you wake the landlord? He has spare keys.” Joe asks.

“Wake the landlord?” David scoffs, “I don’t want to get thrown out like the last guy.”

“Eh, that’s all just a myth.” Joe shrugs, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Do you… want to spend the night at my place?”

David pretends to think it over before nodding. They make their way in silence up to Joe’s apartment. Joe takes a deep breath “Hey listen, I’m sorry abou-” 

“Just… don’t.” David says. He was embarrassed enough as is, he didn’t need to talk about it any more. Joe nods, biting his lip awkwardly and running a hand through his hair. 

“Wanna watch a movie?” Joe asks, trying to defuse some of the tension as he unlocks his apartment door. David shrugs. He couldn’t care less what they did. He was just glad to be some place warm, and, if he was being honest, he was also glad to be back in Joe’s company.

Joe gestures for David to sit down on the couch. David slips off his shoes, leaving them by the entrance. He sits down on the couch, pulling his blanket up to his neck. Joe looks through his DVD collection before pulling out a movie and putting it into the player. Joe sits down next to David. David is incredibly aware of the fact that despite there being space for him to sit farther away, Joe still sat down right next to them. David wipes his hands on his pants, feeling them get sweaty.

They’re sitting watching the movie when David feels Joe lean in, resting his head against David’s shoulder. David tenses under the sudden touch, breath catching in his throat. David stays still, thinking that Joe must have fallen asleep, until he feels a hand on his knee. David jumps, making Joe sit up. 

“What?” Joe asks, looking at David, not removing his hand from David’s leg. 

“What are you doing?” David asks, voice squeaking. Joe rolls his eyes, moving his hand further up David’s leg. 

“You don’t want this?” Joe asks, leaning in close to David. He bites his lip. David stammers, staring at Joe’s parted lips. David feels his last defenses crumble. He leans in, hesitantly ghosting his lips over Joe's. Joe lets him adjust before kissing harder, putting a hand on the side of his neck to hold him close. David moans against Joe’s lips, putting a hand on Joe’s waist, pulling him to sit on top of David’s lap. Joe wraps his arms around David’s shoulders, biting his bottom lip and pulling it into his mouth. 

David pulls away, taking a deep breath. Joe leans down, kissing David’s jawline. David is trying to control his breathing when Joe runs his teeth along his jaw, nipping at the skin there, making David gasp. David reaches up and fists his hand in Joe’s hair. Joe pulls away, smiling down at David. 

“I hope I didn’t ruin that moment.” Joe says, smirking.

“Shut up.” David rolls his eyes, pulling Joe back down into another kiss.


End file.
